Ensemble Mew Mew
Ensemble Mew Mew is a series created by [[User:AnnikaDoll|'Annika']]. Its themes include music, dancing, and teamwork. Its story involves a cast of Mews, scientists, and aliens associated with music and dancing. Plot :The series spans across two separate points in time but begins in the second. It is only through a series of interactions between old and new characters that prior events are made known. The first portion of the plot involves the Ensemble Mews, the main protagonist Mew team of the series, and the second involves a new girl coming into the picture after the team was forced to split up. Both involve a fight against an alien threat—a team of Danseurs called the Diaboliques who have made the Earth their new home and want to control it. :An artifact known as the Rainbow Pearl was found by a scientist named Cadence Harper shortly before the Diaboliques arrived. She used the Pearl to progress research on animal DNA first conducted by a friend, Viola Roth, the mother of one of the main Ensemble Mews who died shortly after it fell to Earth. When it fell off the ship of the Diaboliques, its crashing down interrupted a meeting between Viola and Cadence, who picked it up when she deemed it harmless. However, the Pearl suddenly expelled such enormous amounts of power in her hands that it took her arm and Viola’s life. After the incident, knowing that there might be more trouble ahead for her with such a powerful artifact in her possession, Cadence vowed to continue her friend’s work. :The remaining plot involves the creation of a Mew team to fight the incoming alien threat, the downfall and split of these Mews, and a new girl being introduced into the story that ends up partnering with one of the first Ensemble Mews in order to finally take down the Danseur threat. The Ensemble Mew Project :Just after Cadence found the Rainbow Pearl, the Diaboliques had reached Earth and began to search for it while adopting the planet as their new home. They tormented humans in their hunt for the Pearl and proved difficult to defeat. Because of this, Cadence and a third scientist and friend named Celestia Sweet used Viola’s initial research alongside their own study of the Pearl in hopes of finding a way to defeat the Diaboliques. This research became the Ensemble Mew Project. :Viola’s daughter, Willow, eventually found out what the two women were doing. Without any immediate family, she had been adopted by the two scientists as their godchild, and they had been using her mother’s laboratory in the basement of her house to conduct their testing in secret. Willow came across the lab and the Pearl while clutching her cat Mitzi, whose companionship she relied on immensely, to her chest. Oddly, the Pearl reacted to Willow as she approached it and emitted power once more, but it did not hurt her. Instead, the Pearl transformed Willow into a Mew. When Cadence and Celestia found Willow in her strange new form, they realized the Pearl's powerful potential and worked to create the Ensemble Mew Project, pairing their research with Viola’s work on animal DNA. :With this project, Cadence and Celestia used the Rainbow Pearl to infuse several subjects with both its power and animal DNA in order to enhance their bodies' abilities, making them strong enough to fight the aliens. They were unable to find subjects right away until Willow accidentally brought her friends to them after she lost control of her powers at school. Her high emotions and inability to keep them in line caused her to turn into a cat in front of them—a side effect influenced by the Pearl. The familiar glowing light from her transformation had caught the attention of the Diaboliques, and they realized this girl had the power of the Pearl inside of her. When they gave chase, Willow and her friends fled to safety in the late Viola's laboratory, and It was there that Cadence and Celestia introduced everyone else to the project. Willingly, the girls offered to help and were transformed into Mews, forming the [[Ensemble Mew Mews|'Ensemble Mew Mews']]. The Rainbow Pearl See 'objects and weapons' for more information on the Pearl. :The Rainbow Pearl is a strange artifact that fell from the Diaboliques’ ship and entered the Earth's atmosphere, eventually landing in [[Ensemble Mew Mew: Locations#Lune City|'Lune City']], the series' main setting. It is not until the Pearl reacts to something while being carried in their stolen ship that they ever realize it has immense power. :On Earth, the Pearl was discovered by Viola and Cadence, who were outside having a conversation. It seemed safe to touch at first, so Cadence carefully picked it up. The Pearl reacted highly to her immediately and gave off an explosion of powerful light energy. She tossed it away, but the power it expelled was so great that it destroyed her arm and killed Viola. :Cadence understood immediately what this Pearl was capable of and that it reacted to strong emotions, as she was experiencing feelings for Viola during their conversation. After losing her friend, she stifled her emotions, realizing she needed to remain in a calm state in order to not risk another accident. She found that the Pearl was harmless when it wasn’t active, so she kept it in Viola’s old lab to study it throughout the story. Celestia tried to help Cadence by making her a prosthetic arm and went on to assist in her research when possible. :The Rainbow Pearl is unusual even to the Danseurs. Its creation was a very rare occurrence—the Pearl fell from the sky in [[Ensemble Mew Mew: Locations#Arcenciel|'Arcenciel']] and was found by some of the planet's elite members. Nothing like it had ever fallen from the sky before, but it superficially resembled the material used for their major city’s biggest residential area for the elite, the Grande Fleur. The Pearl’s power was never discovered by the Danseurs, as nobody had managed to activate it. Instead of studying it, their leader had the Pearl encased in glass for decoration, to be displayed in the Fleur for all to ogle at. The Pearl was considered beautiful, highly prized by the species for its rarity and beauty. :How the Pearl came into existence remained unknown, though some theorized that it was simply a natural occurrence of elements binding together in Arcenciel's sky over time, and that another Pearl or similar object could possibly appear again sometime in the far future. After the Ensemble Mews :The girls failed to stop the Diaboliques. Their leader, Étoile, kidnapped one of the scientists as leverage to get her hands on the Pearl. She succeeded and promptly used the Pearl to take back the powers from the Ensemble Mews by absorbing them back through it, though she missed Willow, who had fearfully fled and abandoned her team. With the surge of power from the Pearl and the Mews' energy, Étoile became a Mew herself. She used this newfound form to further enforce her law on the humans, reshaping society in her own way. :Powerless, the Ensemble Mews split up and went separate ways. Society remained intact, but was now under strict control by Étoile and her team. She had people so afraid to go against her that they worked for her, and thus she had an army of officers who kept a sharp eye on things to make sure everyone was complying with her newly implemented laws. Because the Diaboliques were so focused on catching Willow, they decided to stay in Lune City and refrain from expanding beyond it until they had what they wanted and could genuinely assert themselves as unstoppable. So long as there was a remnant of the Pearl's power out of their reach, they were at risk of failure. :Willow, who'd gone into hiding after shamefully fleeing, returned home later to find both scientists still trying to find ways to stop Étoile. Remorseful for her actions, she offered to help them, and Celestia changed Willow's appearance to hide her identity and make her less recognizable. Willow continued to train to become stronger but prematurely confronted the Diaboliques after only a short while of training, with a Mew form that had evolved as she had. She failed to stop them but managed to break off a shard from the Pearl, which Étoile had kept on the scepter she obtained after becoming a Mew, before escaping with it. She took the shard to Cadence and Celestia, finally giving them something to work with. A New Partner :This is where the series begins. :Willow tried to stay hidden while helping Cadence and Celestia. She decided to come back to her old high school after over a year in hopes of stealing some supplies from the labs and offices there. By now, Willow had learned to control her cat form, able to voluntarily transform in and out of it, so she used her ability to inconspicuously sneak around the school, stealing supplies. :Though Willow tried to lie low, a girl named Marianne Richardson noticed and was drawn to her. She tried to befriend Willow, who kept denying the girl’s advances, distancing herself from her while continuing her after-school thefts. However, Marianne caught sight of Willow turning into a cat and running away with a bag of supplies one evening after returning to her biology lab to retrieve a textbook she left behind. :She confronted Willow about it later, but a teacher heard their conversation and reported it to some officers, who later surrounded the girls with the intent to take them to Étoile for questioning. Wanting to avoid another premature confrontation, and now having to also protect Marianne, Willow “kidnapped” her and stole a car, driving to the laboratory in her home to hide. Knowing that she would be in danger if left alone, Willow invited Marianne to stay with her, Cadence, and Celestia. Agreeing, Marianne then learned about the splitting of the former Ensemble Mews and the current state of the remaining trio's progress toward defeating the Diaboliques, deciding she wanted to help them. :She was not allowed to become a Mew, but was given animal DNA to test her compatibility in the case the group truly needed her to be. Unfortunately, her body did not seem to react to the DNA whatsoever. The Pearl shard in the lab, however, did react highly to her presence in the same way it had with Willow before. Still, Cadence refused to let Marianne become a Mew in fear of losing the shard or rendering it powerless, and she had Marianne try to control her excitability in order to prevent any accidents, like the one that occurred with Viola. :While she couldn’t do much, Marianne offered to help Willow steal supplies from other places, now that the school was off-limits. Willow refused her at first, and it was only after the girls got to know one another that she one day finally decided to take Marianne with her during a run. While they collaborated well at first, on one run, the Diaboliques had caught on to them after personally investigating the school upon the girls' escape, and they attacked. :They caught Marianne who had failed to run away. In desperation, Willow ran to grab the Pearl shard from the lab and returned to find her friend. As Marianne was being taken to Étoile by the other two Diaboliques, Willow ran up in her cat form and threw the Pearl shard toward her. It then embedded itself into Marianne's body, strongly reacting to her. The shard's power then transformed Marianne into a Mew, giving her the strength to fight back. Willow fought with her new teammate to subdue the aliens, then fled with her back to the lab. After Cadence and Celestia realized how powerful the girls were together, they found that they now had a new chance at defeating the Diaboliques. Characters : Scientists *'Viola Roth': Willow’s mother and main contributor to the Ensemble Mew Project. She had proposed an idea to infuse humans with animal DNA to potentially enhance their abilities, but was turned down several times by superiors. Her research later served as the basis for the Ensemble Mew Project. *'Cadence Harper': Viola’s close friend. She “adopts” Willow once Viola dies, and uses Viola's work in conjunction with her own research on the Rainbow Pearl to create the Ensemble Mew Project. *'Celestia Sweet': An easygoing, energetic young scientist, prodigal for her unusual but functional ideas. She is the friend of the other scientists and helps Cadence with the Ensemble Mew Project and raising Willow after Viola’s death. : [[Ensemble Mew Mews|'Ensemble Mews']] *'Willow Roth': A shy young girl who is one of the first to become a Mew. She is the daughter of Viola Roth, but is adopted by Cadence and Celestia later on after her mother’s death. She becomes stronger and more courageous after breaking away from her team, but still struggles in her relationships with others. Willow's alias is Mew Parfait and she has the DNA of a black cat. *'Klara De Jongh': A laid back high school senior who falls into the Ensemble Mew team after an incident with Willow led to the Danseurs coming after her. She becomes Mew Licorice and is the leader of the original team'. '''She has the DNA of a Black African Pygmy Hedgehog. *'Daniella Gillespie: Nicknamed "Danny" by her friends, she is a younger, high-energy high school student who falls into the Ensemble Mew team after an incident with Willow led to the Danseurs coming after her. She becomes '''Mew Tangerine and has the DNA of an African Wild Dog. *'Vianney Soubrette': A senior, rich and classy high school student who falls into the Ensemble Mew team after an incident with Willow led to the Danseurs coming after her. She becomes Mew Blackberry and has the DNA of a Purple Peacock. *'Marianne Richardson': A curious and lively high school senior who gets in the middle of Willow, Cadence, and Celestia’s fight against the Danseurs after witnessing Willow turn into a cat. She becomes Mew Meringue, and she has alien DNA from the Pearl shard within her. : [[The Diaboliques|'Diaboliques']] *'Étoile': The head of the Diaboliques who decided to leave her home planet with her teammates. She becomes a Mew, but does not have a Mew name. *'Pas': The second-in-command of the Diaboliques. She is a methodical, calculated, and concise individual who contributes carefully constructed and calculated plans to the team. *'Sissonne': The third of the Diaboliques, a younger child who is more sporadic and sprightly. She joins the Diaboliques for no reason other than because she does not enjoy her life back home, due to high expectations placed upon her. She contributes improvised plans and different tactical perspectives to the team. Setting This is a brief list. See [[Ensemble Mew Mew: Locations|'locations']] for more details : Lune City :The main setting of the series and where the Diaboliques set up their base. Several of the characters grew up here, save for the scientists, Willow, Marianne, and Klara. It is a fictional city not set in any specific place in our world, though an American setting is somewhat reflected because of the architecture and the school system used. It is otherwise ambiguous. : Willow's Home :The second primary setting of the series. It is the home Willow moved to before becoming a Mew which also acts as the scientist’s base of operations since it has an underground lab. It was once a café before being turned into a humble home. : Lune High School :A prestigious school with highly intelligent students. It has a variety of resources and opportunities most schools do not because of the types of people and their work that the city draws in—the sciences are especially common here. All members of the Ensemble Mews attended the school at some point. : Arcenciel :The home planet of the Danseurs, where the Diaboliques originated from before they left it. It is a brightly lit planet with a rainbow-tinted sky similar in appearance to the Rainbow Pearl. Music For a list of series music with descriptions (character songs, attacks, scenes) please see the 'soundtrack' page Other Themes : Loss :Most of the characters have, in some way, lost someone close to them. Whether it is a romantic partner, friend, or parent, most all the characters in the Ensemble Mew team have undergone some form of loss. Loss in this case also does not have to mean death—motivations, hope, and precious belongings are things some characters lose. : Passion :This is in the non-romantic sense—most every individual in the series has a passion for something, typically an activity but sometimes a person, place, concept, or aesthetic. Regardless of what it is, almost all characters have a high passion for something that they cling to, either to distract them or to simply make themselves or others happy. : Love :This is in both the platonic and romantic sense. Every character has a relationship to someone that makes them very close to them. This can take the form of other bonds, such as mother-daughter love between Viola and Willow, or love of a friend. Vianney and Danny, for example, have a very close friendship and an enduring platonic love for one another despite their huge differences in character and tendency to argue. : Loneliness :With loss often comes loneliness, and every character in the series undergoes some form of loneliness or other emotional agony as a result of loss or hardship. For many, this follows the loss of people's individual parents or guardians, and for others it involves the loss of a friend. : Growth :Several of the characters undergo growth, typically of their character. Willow reflects this theme the most, as she shifts between personalities over time and learns to outgrow old tendencies that hindered her growth before. Some characters may grow their relationships with one another, and others may grow in more subtle ways. : Parallels :Some of the characters parallel one another, either in their themes, histories, or personalities. This is especially seen between the Diaboliques and the scientists, whom each undergo similar circumstances within their lives despite some stark differences. Trivia *The original plot of ''Ensemble Mew Mew ''involved the Diaboliques trying to escape Earth after landing there. Originally, they'd planned to take revenge against Arcenciel since they'd been forcefully shut out by their people, jettisoned via ship. The Rainbow Pearl was actually a device the three needed to power the ship, but it had been taken by humans to use in defense against the group. *A second draft of the plot involved only Étoile trying to rule over the human race. Instead of the girls actually being created from the Rainbow Pearl, it was the shard itself that gave them their power—Étoile had actually come to Earth with the Pearl and the piece accidentally broke off. She had been hunting for it in order to actually be able to stop the Mews from defeating her by absorbing their power. *I liked the idea of having music oriented characters fighting dance oriented characters, which is why the Mews and the Danseurs have the themes they do! Category:Nominated Series Category:Annika's Pages Category:Ensemble Mew Mew Category:Stories Category:Series Category:AUs Category:Story Hubs